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Dr. Joel Haber is not just a clinical psychologist. He’s a dynamic speaker who connects, empathizes, engages and makes a real difference in the lives of those who have been and are being bullied. more »

Dr. Haber in the Media

Dr. Haber is frequently asked to provide his expert bullying advice and input for local and national media as well as expert witness testimony. If you would like to have Dr. Haber as anexpert witness on bullying, appear on your TV program,interview him for radio or other media please contact us.

Keys to Successful Bully Prevention/Reduction Programs

by Dr. Joel Haber

School and Community Linkage
Schools cannot prevent school violence without the participation of the community. Community participation can include students, teachers, school staff, administrators and parents. It can also include: business groups, community-based organizations, law enforcement, etc. Accomplishing this collaboration takes expert facilitation by an outsider to work with each group involved in the partnership and to encourage movement towards a successful goal-oriented partnership.

Identify key people involved with violence prevention and school safety
Students are the targets of school violence and need to be involved in establishing how they can feel protected. A committee involved in school safety can meet frequently to address these concerns. In the Bully Coach School program, the principal, administrators and staff, including aides, meet to talk about safety. We bring together expert help from outside and within the school to train aides. Students talk about how to prevent bullying, be better bystanders, and help others without fear.

Conduct staff training that is consistent amongst all adults in a community
Bus drivers, office staff, teachers, aides, and special staff all need identification, awareness, communication skills and algorithms to manage difficult behavior. Training is an ongoing effort of the Bully Coach School program and allows change to occur gradually as community members feel success in their efforts.

Train all staff and students to use conflict resolution skills to reduce aggression
Bully Coach School teaches all students to notice situations when bullying/aggression can occur. Students are then taught to practice ways to reduce this through conflict resolution, or report to an adult. Aides and teachers are taught to use these skills to prevent their own escalation of emotion and promote positive role modeling for children.

Promote pro-social activities to foster caring, cooperation, respect, tolerance, courtesy and dignity
Set up programs that encourage positive role-modeling to foster the above, and recognize students and staff that follow this model. Unless the concepts of rewarding pro-social behavior are managed from the top-down, these concepts lose face to the more critical and punishment oriented modes of managing behavior.

Opportunities for all students
Some students need more opportunities to learn skills to better manage their difficulties. A school can provide additional group skills training, support from caring staff, or other ways to promote a sense of belonging for more "vulnerable" students. We can help children identify a strength that they can feel good about. Having every child develop something within themselves and therefore feel "high self-esteem" is a goal we foster.

Parents are crucial in any successful program
Parents influence children before they ever get to the school environment. There is no universal "parent manual" or course that allows parents to teach their children consistently. Bully Coach School provides parents with new skills or helps them to fine tune their own skill set.

We promote parent/child activities to reduce bullying and encourage character education as part of fostering positive pro-social involvement between parents and children.

Understand that change is a process and there is no success or failure
The common belief among a school community is that a single program can change bullying. This is completely off the mark. We try to set realistic expectations of success and emphasize that change comes one step at a time. There is no overall success or failure because everyone is responsible in their own way to promote a better community. A better community is a process of making people better citizens. This comes with practice, learning and experience.

The more we talk about bullying and violence prevention with each other and our children and use tools to help us promote pro-social rewards and consequences, the closer we move to better lives with each other in a community.

Bullyproof Your Child for Life

Have Dr. Haber Speak to Your Group